SEELEY ON SPORTS: Top 10 of 2012

In nine days, Mike Piazza may be the very first Mercury area graduate to receive an official invitation as a special guest for Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies this summer up in Cooperstown, N.Y. The former Dodgers and Mets catcher is expected to be a first-ballot inductee, but that won’t officially be known, of course, until the votes are counted up and the results are released next Wednesday.

If the Phoenixville graduate is indeed voted into the Hall of Fame, it’s hard to imagine a bigger story for 2013.

Nonetheless, appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot alone still ranks as one of The Mercury’s Top 10 stories of 2012.

Rightfully so, among a short list of individuals like Perkiomen Valley graduate and current Shippensburg junior quarterback Zach Zulli, recipient of the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in all of Division II football; Boyertown and Stanford University graduate Nicole Barnhart, a goalie on the U.S. women’s soccer team that won the gold medal in the Olympics; Boyertown and Ohio State graduate Shannon Draves, who nearly fulfilled those same Olympic dreams with an outstanding performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials; and Ithaca teammates Seth Ecker and Jeremy Stierly – two outstanding wrestlers from Pottstown and Owen J. Roberts, respectively – who pinned down NCAA Division III titles as well as Academic All-American honors.

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It was also a special year for six area teams … like Spring-Ford’s girls basketball team; Upper Perkiomen’s boys swimming team; Owen J. Roberts’ wrestling team; Pottsgrove’s boys cross country team; and the Pottsgrove and Spring-Ford football teams.

Attempting to list all those individual and team achievements from No. 1 through No. 10 isn’t easy, but each and every one of them have impacted this area’s storied sports history … and few, if any, are likely to be forgotten for some time, if ever.

So here we go:

1. Zach Zulli presented Harlon Hill Trophy

Zulli left opponents wondering if they needed air traffic control to help sort out and defend his passing game. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound junior quarterback completed 342 of 544 attempts for Division II-high 4,747 yards and 54 touchdowns — which led all of college football — before being named the winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy, Division II’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. He broke the NCAA Division II single-season records for touchdown responsible for (57) and points responsible for (344) in guiding the Red Raiders to 10 straight wins, a spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game, and a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Named the PSAC’s Eastern Division as well as Daktronics Super Region I Offensive Player of the Year, Zulli was later selected to both the Daktronics and AP Little All-America first teams.

2. Piazza nominated for Hall of Fame

Piazza left the game five years ago as the greatest offensive catcher in Major League Baseball history, and with the most home runs by any catcher who ever played the game. In 16 seasons, he hit .308 with 344 doubles, 427 home runs overall, 1,048 runs scored and 1,335 RBI – numbers that dwarf those of former Reds catcher and Hall of Famer Johnny Bench. And, unlike many others on this year’s ballot, Piazza has never been linked to drugs or failed a drug test, let alone had to offer an explanation for his success.

3. Barnhart golden again

For the second time in four years, Barnhart was on the sidelines when the U.S. women’s soccer team won the gold medal during the Summer Olympics in London. Barnhart was the backup for Hope Solo, just as she was when the American’s were golden in the 2008 Summer Games. The first Mercury area graduate to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist, Barnhart owns an international career won-loss record of 26-3 with four draws.

4. Ecker, Stierly double the fun

Ecker won his second straight gold medal with an 8-0 shutout of Coe’s Jordan Westfall in the 133-pound final of the NCAA Division III National Championships at Lacrosse, Wisc. Ecker closed the season at 30-4 (108-20 career). Stierly made up for two consecutive runner-up finishes with a 3-1 decision of Wilkes’ Anthony Dattolo in the 149-pound final. Stierly closed the season at 12-1 (91-18 career). Three months later, both were named first team Academic All-Americans – with Ecker being selected as the Academic All-American of the Year.

5. Spring-Ford girls score big

The Rams, with a deep lineup featuring Jaida Burgess, Courtney Hinnant, Nikki Lynch, Brittany Moore, Sarah Payonk, Sammy Stipa and Mariah Traywick, won the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship and the program’s first District 1-AAAA title. The team defeated Methacton, 62-33, in the PAC-10 final; nudged North Penn, 46-33, for the district title; and advanced to the state semifinals before falling to eventual state champion Archbishop Carroll, 65-43, at Norristown High School. The Rams, who went unbeaten in the PAC-10 and had a 26-game winning streak, finished with a school-record 30-3 overall mark under head coach Jeff Rinehimer.

6. Pottsgrove boys set the pace

The Falcons, led by Ian Yanusko, Evan Cook, Morgan Moonan, Derek Lopez, Mike Rossi, Josh Toth and Anthony Avans, won their second straight Pioneer Athletic Conference title. But in the ensuing two weeks, they hustled unlike any team before them by running down the Class AA district and state titles under head coach Larry Rechtin.

7. OJR pins down district title

The Wildcats held every one of their Pioneer Athletic Conference opponents to single digits for its second straight championship, then captured their program’s first District 1-Class AAA Duals Tournament title by defeating Norristown, 35-29. They went on to defeat Greensburg-Salem, 43-21, for the program’s first win in state duals competition and 19th straight win without a loss before another setback – sandwiched in between two wins – capped their season at 20-2 overall under head coach Steve DeRafelo.

8. Upper Perkiomen boys make a splash

Gold medalists Mason Cassel (100 butterfly) and Kyle Himmelwright (100 backstroke) helped the Indians win the District 1-Class AA team title. Cassel and Himmelwright, along with Collin Junk, Jody Peart and alternate Blade Umstead, also won the medley relay, as well as the 400 freestyle relay with Junk and Matt Rose. Overall, the Indians broke six team records during the memorable weekend under head coach Missy Peart.

9. Draves comes oh so close

Draves, a senior at Ohio State, was seeded 45th in the 200-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., but shocked the field with a time of 2:11.0 in the semifinals to earn the last of eight berths in the final. She came back with an even faster 2:10.47 in the final, but it was only good for seventh place and left her shy of a berth on the U.S. Olympic team.

10. Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford drive on

Pottsgrove, under veteran head coach Rick Pennypacker, swept all nine games en route to a record eighth Pioneer Athletic Conference championship before falling in the District 1-Class AAA semifinals and finishing 11-1 overall — an all-time Mercury area-record sixth straight season with 10 or more wins. ... Spring-Ford, under third-year head coach Chad Brubaker, not only became the first PAC-10 team to win a postseason game in the District 1-Class AAAA bracket, but advanced all the way to the district final before falling to eventual state runner-up Coatesville and closing with an overall record of 12-3 — a school record for wins in a season.

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Just one person’s opinion (mine, obviously), but if there was an Athlete of the Year honor it would go to Zulli, while the Coach of the Year honor would go to Rechtin.

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And never to be forgotten – the passing of Elmer “Chump” Pollock, whose tireless and often unappreciated efforts helped preserve and enrich the Pottstown area’s great sports traditions by recognizing the great athletes and sports teams as president of the Tri-County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame; and the death of former Pottstown football and wrestling standout, Air Force Academy graduate and Navy Seal Job Price while serving his country over in Afghanistan.

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Don Seeley is the sports editor of The Mercury. He can be reached at dseeley@pottsmerc.com